There are a number of Keith Wards on the internet, and they are not all me. To identify myself, I propose to call myself ‘Professor Keith Ward’, as I think I am the only one of those.
As my CV shows, I have been an academic virtually all my working life, teaching philosophy, theology, and religious studies at various times. So I am an academic, with all the shortcomings that implies. I am interested in intellectual problems, in arguments and theories, and I largely depend on other people for finding out facts.
I am, by nature and conviction, an Idealist philosopher, somebody who believes in the supremacy of Spirit or Mind, and who thinks that the material universe is an expression or creation of a Supreme Mind. I see religions as very ambiguous but probably necessary ways of giving humans some awareness of this Supreme Mind. I am a Christian, and became a priest of the Church of England in 1972. But I have an interest in the many diverse ways in which humans have sought spiritual truth, and in trying to understand what these various paths may have to teach. I think the main task for religious believers today is to ensure that their beliefs are conducive to human flourishing and, so far as is possible, to the flourishing of all sentient beings; to relate ancient religious beliefs to the modern scientific world view; and to see their own faith in a truly global context.
I have listed the books I have written under a number of subject-headings. I have put them in chronological order, and given the dates of their publication, so that certain developments of thought may be seen. Some books have been published under different titles, in which case I have listed both titles together. Some books fall under more than one subject-heading, and I have put duplicates in square brackets. Finally, I have printed in bold type one book under each subject-heading which in my view will give a fairly full view of my thoughts. I have also given, in brackets, very short descriptions of the topics each book is supposed to be about.
